The commission, made up of four subcommittees including the collective bargaining subcommittee, discussed reconciling personnel of the local police departments.

According to Lopatcong Mayor and commission Chair Douglas Steinhardt, Greenwich has not yet submitted its reconciliation for personnel, a process that takes approximately six weeks for the state to review.

"The reconciliation and personnel review needs to occur to see how various employees fit into the puzzle with their previous rankings," said Steinhardt in an interview after the meeting.

The contracts in question contain some terms that are similar, but according to Steinhardt they need to internally reconcile terms that are different through negotiation.

The other subcommittees cover personnel, finance, and administrative concerns. Commission Vice Chair and Pohatcong Mayor James Kern III serves on the finance subcommittee and proposed to the commission that it hire an independent firm for mergers and acquisitions to get a non-biased assessment.

"It's difficult to say the initial savings," said Steinhardt, who notes that with the costs of startup, the public will most likely see a greater savings over time. He emphasized the importance of the efficiency that will come from a single unit.

Startup costs include vehicles, uniforms and weapons and the commission is pursuing assistance from the state.

During the commission meeting, a tour of the newly renovated Pohatcong Municipal Building was given by Kern. The construction and renovation took two years. That building would serve as home base for a joint police force, should one be formed.

The police quarters, located below the municipal offices in the facility, have been updated with security camera equipment that monitors the entire station as well as a license plate scanner system.

With both male and female locker rooms, the space allows for at least 10 officers to be on duty in a given shift.

The personnel subcommittee was set to meet and discuss policemen's rights, management rights and other non-economic propositions before the public commission meeting, but that was postponed to Tuesday, July 2, at 8 a.m.